Summary: Christine is upset because something is wrong with Raoul, and the most unlikely person is the only one who can help. Many twists along the way. movie based

Author's Notes: I have not read any The Phantom of the Opera books. I want to but I don't have them at the moment and I have too much reading for school. So this story is based off the wonderful movie. Also I am not a physician so any soon-to-be doctors out there please cut me a break. Enjoy the story!

Buried Deep Inside

Chapter One: Sickness

The snow fell gently onto the ground and covering the country cottage just outside Paris. It is a lovely two story house painted in a light blue color almost like the sky. The front of the house looked upon a clearing while at the back of the house sat a quiet forest. It is a very peaceful environment where nothing exciting happened. It was all quite perfect like a fairy tale. If only what was happening inside the house was a fairy tale.

Emerging from the back of the house was Christine Daae. Her appearance hadn't changed from a year earlier from when she was singing at the Opera Populaire. She still had the long curly brown hair that now hung loosely around her shoulders. She wore a pale pink dress around her small frame. Yes, Christine Daae looked very much like the last day she left the Opera Populaire except she was no longer smiling. Her happiness had disappeared. As she sat on a tree stump, tears flowed down her cheeks. Soon she was openly sobbing. She had held it back inside the house, but now she could not hold her emotions in any longer.

Unknown to the crying Christine, someone was watching her from the shelter of the trees. The man watched her with concern and covering about half of his face was a white mask. Yes, it was the Phantom of the Opera otherwise known as Erik, who had terrorized the opera house up until a year ago. Now Erik simply wandered from city to city selling his magnificent operas to various theatres. Whenever he stopped in Paris he would stop to see Christine. She wouldn't see him of course, but Erik had to check to make sure she was happy and well taken care of by Raoul de Chagny. Last time he had visited had been five months ago. Christine and Raoul were not home when he arrived so he waited till the dark hours of night when their carriage had returned home. The couple emerged from the carriage smiling brightly at each other. Christine had her arm wrapped around Raoul's. They appeared to be very much in love. As much as Erik wanted to be the man Christine hung onto, her heart did not love him and he couldn't force her to love him. He learned that when Christine kissed him a year ago in his lair under the Opera Populaire. He did realize that he did want her to be happy even if it wasn't him by her side.

As Erik continued to watch her, his curiosity grew. He wanted to know what was ailing her. He needed to know. It was causing him pain to watch the woman he loved crying her eyes out.

Wandering child so lost, so helpless, yearning for my guidance.

Christine lifted her head. Her red, puffy eyes peered around looking for the voice she knew so well. She had never imagined that she would hear it again. Confirming that the voice wasn't purely imagination, walking out of the forest towards her was Erik. She wasn't sure how to feel. Frightened? Shocked? Amazed? So she simply watched Erik approach her. He stopped within a few feet of her.

"Why are you here?" Christine finally spoke up wiping the tears from her eyes. Her voice wavered slightly from sobbing but she was quickly gaining composure.

"Am I not still your Angel of Music?" Erik answered.

"Please do not play games with me Erik. I cannot handle them right now."

While looking at her, Erik knew she was right. She looked so weak and tired. He decided he would get to the point. "I heard you crying and had to inquire why."

"You do not need to worry about me Erik. I made my choice a year ago," she looked down away from him. That night down in the phantom's lair seemed so long ago but yet the memory was still clear in her mind.

"That does not mean I have stopped caring about you. You showed me how to love that night," Erik referred to the kiss Christine had given him. "I have not stopped loving you but I am not here to take you away. I wish for you to be happy and it is obvious you are not."

Christine sighed. "I am sorry Erik. I do not mean to be rude and you are right of course." She felt tears entering her eyes again. Erik took a couple of steps towards her but suddenly decided against going any closer. He didn't want to scare off Christine by coming too close. "It's Raoul." She couldn't hold back the sobs.

With those two words many scenarios entered Erik's mind. He thought of Raoul mistreating Christine by neglecting her by leaving her alone for long periods of time or by being a controlling husband. Anger started flowing through his veins. Christine sensed this.

"It's not like that Erik," Christine assured him. "Raoul is sick. The doctors don't know what's wrong with him. Three different doctors have examined him and they cannot find out what the sickness is. I fear he's dying. I don't think I can watch him die Erik."

This was not what Erik had been expecting. He knew Raoul was in good health. He had crossed blades with him not long ago and had been beaten. Erik found something about the situation unsettling but then again, when had anything in his life made perfect sense?

"Would you permit me to see him?" Erik requested.

Hope entered Christine's brown eyes. "Do you think you could help?"

"I cannot say until I have seen him. I am not a physician but maybe there is something they may have missed."

Christine nodded smiling slightly. The small smile brought a bit of happiness to the former phantom. He followed Christine into the house and to the second floor into the young couple's bedroom. Erik felt a bit odd being in there and now was questioning why he had requested to help Raoul. If Raoul died, then maybe Christine would come to him once again. There was a new part of Erik that Christine had brought out in that kiss. Humanity.

Upon seeing the young man lying so ill did make his heart sink. Raoul laid on the bed with his eyes closed. His face glistened with sweat and his cheeks were flushed. Even under the covers, he could tell that the Vicomte was thinner. Erik slowly walked over to the side of the bed. He was reluctant to touch Raoul. It looked as though the man was about to break. Gently he took the Raoul's hand. It was cold. Erik quickly felt Raoul's forehead to find him burning up with fever. It appeared to be the flu or some common illness, but Erik knew there had to be something else going on to baffle the doctors. "What's the mystery?"

Christine walked over and turned over Raoul's wrist and pulled up his sleeve. His veins were dark and swollen running down his arm. "He won't eat or drink anything either. At first he was vomiting for hours. He's finally stopped but his stomach can't seem to handle anything."

It all confused Erik. He would have diagnosed Raoul with an extreme case of influenza but Raoul's veins disturbed him. It was unusual to say the least. The more he stared at the veins, he started to remember that he had seen something like Raoul's illness before.